I really like Thali on St. Marc, just above St. Catherine for an Indian Lunch. Family business, nothing fancy, but great food, and the butter chicken isn't sickly sweet the way I find many to be made. They make it nicely spicy, which is a personal preference of mine. You'll get a complete meal for $12 or under.

Six of us went to Diablos last night for a late dinner after a film and were absolutely delighted with the place. We did a lot of starter-sharing, The chicken tenders were so moist, with a smoky slight-spicy flavour which was perfect. The jalapeno poppers were the very best (and hottest) any of us have ever had. We had the pulled pork sliders, which was a perfect amount of tender pulled pork on cornbread sliders. Really great change from a bun. The ribs were fall-off-the-bone and not too sweet. The fried pickles were are only disappointment. They were good, but we've had better in the South. Maybe it's just me. I prefer a cornflour sort of batter, and a spicy dipping sauce. The service was attentive and fun. All in all, we had a great time, and will be going back. There were a lot of items on their menu that sounded worth trying. Prices were reasonable as well.

I wouldn't really call myself an expert - but I've always been fond of the European shops along St. Laurent. There are a few near Schwartz's - Slovenia is one of them - can't think of the names of others.

I know what you mean, but I find for things like pizza toppings, even if I buy the sausage from the butcher at Metro or IGA, and spice it up a bit, while it's frying (I also smash chili flakes with the fennel seed) it's really not so bad.

I also love a lot of fennel in my sausages - and I'll tell you what I do. I buy some regular "Hot" Italian sausages from the butcher. Then when I crumble them and fry them in the pan, before putting them on the pizza, I smash some fennel seeds with a mallet, and throw them in the pan with the sausage. Makes all the difference. Hope this helps you.

As well as the Montrealais Restaurant in the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, a traditional Thanksgiving Turkey dinner is also put on by the Globe Restaurant. The Globe would be a bit more expensive, but has a trendier, more lively atmosphere. Most hotel dining rooms provide a Thanksgiving meal for out-of-towners. THe Ritz Carlton always did.Again, the Ritz would be the most expensive of the 3. But they have a new chef/restaurant now, so you should check. In any case, you would want to reserve for dinner wherever you end up going.